Monthly Archives: March 2014

Are you familiar with those cartons of Halos mandarin oranges that appear in grocery stores this time of year? The fruits are seedless and easy to peel and I love the taste. Unfortunately, I’m the only one in my house who eats them and since these things come in large packages, it can be a challenge to finish them before they go bad. But I’ve found a great use for these sweet little fruits in this Orange Breakfast Green Smoothie recipe.

This smoothie is high in potassium and vitamins A, B6, C and E. It also contains calcium, copper, folate and zinc. The taste? It’s sweet, creamy and orangey. Yes, it’s green, but the fruits definitely mask any green taste.

I’m not a fan of grapefruit, which is one of the ingredients in this recipe. But the grapefruit taste is not evident; it just adds a little extra citrusy kick. I actually used a fruit cup of grapefruit (drained) rather than fresh and I used a frozen banana. You can certainly use fresh if you have it.

Directions:
Add the Swiss chard, oranges, grapefruit, avocado, banana and protein powder to a high-speed blender. Top with ice cubes and add water. Blend for 30 seconds or until you reach the consistency you desire.

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What you eat every day is a far more powerful determinant of your health than your DNA or most of the nasty chemicals lurking in your environment. — Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of the book “Whole: Rethinking the Science of Nutrition.”

Anyone who has read my posts about green smoothies knows that I’m a big believer in their health benefits. Unfortunately, getting people to try one for the first time is often the biggest obstacle. But believe me, you shouldn’t be afraid of this recipe! Even my non-green-smoothie drinking husband liked this one and drank the whole thing with nary a complaint. In fact, he really enjoyed it. This is a great starter recipe for anyone who’s interested in dipping their toes into the proverbial green smoothie pond. It tastes more like a cherry slushy than anything green.

You can find most of the ingredients for the Cherry Top Green Smoothie in the frozen fruits section of your supermarket. I always recommend buying organic frozen fruits if you can, but I occasionally buy conventional, as well. And, as a side note, you can freeze your own bananas. I do this all the time and they’re perfect for smoothies. If you have bananas that are on the verge of becoming overripe, just peel them, break them into pieces, put them in a freezer-safe container or Ziploc bag and pop them in the freezer. They’ll keep for weeks that way.

As for the greens, when I don’t get them fresh from my friends at Beyond the Bridge, I purchase organic greens in the plastic tubs at my local Kroger store. I’ve found that the ones in the clear tubs tend to last longer than loose leaf greens.

The following recipe is one of my favorites from the book, “Green Smoothie Joy.”

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I know that pumpkin bread makes some people think of autumn. But I figure there’s no reason not to enjoy a good thing year-round!

I’ve been making this spiced pumpkin bread for many years; it’s one of my favorites. I love all things pumpkin — lattes, muffins, pies, etc. — and I enjoy the spices in this quick bread. Cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves are a wonderful combination, with the added benefit of making your kitchen smell divine.

I don’t recall where I got the original recipe for this bread, but over the years I’ve made some changes to make it healthier, such as substituting whole wheat flour for most of the all-purpose and reducing the amount of sugar. The end result is a moist pumpkin bread with complimentary spices and a crunch from the walnuts. It’s hard not to eat a whole loaf by myself! This recipe makes two loaves, so it’s perfect for sharing.

Mix the oil and sugar in a large bowl. Add the eggs and pumpkin and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing gently until combined. Add the chopped walnuts and stir. The batter will be thick.

Pumpkin Bread Batter

Pour equally into the two loaf pans and bake for one hour to one hour and 10 minutes. During the last 10 minutes of cooking time, check for doneness by inserting a knife into the center of the bread. If it comes out clean, it’s done.

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A Healthier Version of Comfort Food

I crave comfort food, especially in cold weather. But I want to maintain a healthy diet, so I tend to tweak the recipes. This is one recipe that you can easily make healthier than the original without sacrificing taste. It’s also easy to pull together on a work night or when you don’t have a lot of time to cook.

The original recipe for chicken tetrazzini calls for whipping cream. But I’ve found that half and half works just as well. It’s around 12 percent fat, versus up to 38 percent fat in heavy whipping cream, so it’s a good substitute and you really can’t taste the difference. You can also easily substitute whole wheat pasta for regular in this dish.

If you’re looking for a quick comfort food recipe for two, give this a try!

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Start heating the water for the pasta.

Cut the chicken into cubes and cook it in a skillet with 1 tablespoon olive oil until it’s no longer pink. Once it’s done, place the chicken in a separate dish and set it aside. In the same skillet, melt the butter over low heat. Stir in the flour, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from the heat and stir in the half and half and the chicken broth. Return the mixture to the heat and boil for one minute, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Add the sherry and mix well.

Meanwhile, start the pasta. I use a thin variety so mine is usually ready in about five minutes. Add the frozen peas to the pasta water during the last minute of cooking.

Once the pasta and peas are done, drain them and then add to the sauce, along with the sliced mushrooms and chicken. Mix well and pour into an 8” square casserole dish. Top with the grated parmesan cheese and bake for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

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I’ve posted several recipes for sweet green smoothies and those remain my favorites. But every now and then, I like to switch up my vegetables and try something new. This smoothie is for folks who are serious about getting a big nutritional punch out of a drink!

The taste is similar to V-8 juice, minus the crazy amount of sodium that’s in the regular variety of that drink. This version also doesn’t contain tomatoes.

Fair warning: the ingredients in this drink made my non-green-smoothie drinking husband wrinkle his nose. But the taste is mild and no one vegetable is overpowering.

One of the more unusual ingredients is cooked beets. You can find these in many large supermarkets. I found mine at Trader Joe’s; they come in small vacuumed-packed containers. You could obviously cook your own, but I like the convenience of the prepared version.

Directions
Place water and all other ingredients into a high speed blender. Blend for 30 seconds or until you reach the consistency you desire.

So what are you getting out of this drink? Well, the beets contain potassium, fiber, magnesium and iron, to name just a few benefits. As vegetables go, they’re also quite sweet. The celery is a good source of vitamin K and the carrots are rich in beta-carotene. Blueberries have superstar status when it comes to their antioxidant properties and bananas are high in potassium and vitamin B6. Like the celery, spinach is a great source of vitamin K. Ground flax seed is a good source of Omega-3 fats, so I usually add a tablespoon to all of my smoothies. You could also add a tablespoon of chia seeds if you have those in your pantry.

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I’ve eaten more than my share of hard and sugary granola bars over the years. After all, they’re convenient and portable. Unfortunately, some of them are also sadly lacking in the taste department.

So I decided to make my own and see if the results were worth the effort. The truth is that they’re very easy to make. The whole process — from start to finish — takes less than 30 minutes and that includes the baking time. If you’re already into whole foods, you probably have the ingredients in your pantry.

And the taste? I can honestly say that there’s no comparison. The homemade bars win by a landslide. Freshness obviously plays a role here. But the fact that you can choose the quality of your ingredients also enters into it. The homemade variety are softer and chewier, both pluses in my book. Give these homemade bars a try. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Brown rice syrup can be found in the natural foods section of your grocery store. I used the Lundberg Family Farm brand. Brown rice syrup is a sweetener produced from brown rice that has been ground and cooked. It’s less sweet than white refined sugar and it still contains some of the nutrients from the whole brown rice. It also has a lower glycemic index than white sugar.

I used grade B pure maple syrup, which is often called cooking maple syrup. It also contains antioxidant compounds not found in other sweeteners. While it’s still a sweetener and should be used judiciously, it’s better for you than white refined sugar.

Peanut Butter & Syrup Mixture

For the oats, choose the old-fashioned variety. They’re a whole grain food and are high in fiber.

DirectionsPreheat your oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8″x8″ pan with parchment paper so that the edges of the paper come half-way up the pan.

Place the peanut butter, maple syrup and brown rice syrup into a small saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring just until the ingredients are combined. You don’t want the mixture to get hot, just warm enough to combine everything. Remove from the heat and stir in the cinnamon and salt. Add the rolled oats, peanuts and chocolate chips and mix well.

Pre-Baked Granola Bars

Spoon the mixture into the paper-lined pan. Wet your hands (otherwise, the mixture will stick to your hands) and press down firmly, including on the sides. And firmly really does mean firmly! You’ll want them to hold together once they’re cooled.

Bake for 18-20 minutes or until the edges begin to brown. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove them by grasping the paper and lifting them out. They’ll still be a little warm and I think this is the best time to cut them. Use a large chef’s knife and cut all the way across the center, then into bars. You don’t want to use a sawing motion, just press the knife straight down. The first time I made these bars I didn’t use chopped peanuts and chocolate chips. But the second time I added them and — if you have them in your pantry — use them! They were a great addition.